Sweeter Than
by stellar asterism
Summary: Tino decides to do something during his spare time.


Tino had been spending an awful lot of time in the kitchen today, Berwald noticed. He couldn't really see what the Finn was doing from outside, but he could see him wandering around the kitchen every now and then, when the smaller blond happened to pass by the part of the room that could be seen from outside. Perhaps it had something to do with Peter's absence; perhaps Tino was just spending his extra free time on cooking... something he could not quite identify from out here. Hopefully, it wasn't anything too weird; Tino wasn't a bad cook, but some of the things he'd made were a bit... questionable. Not that he really minded such a thing after spending such a long time with the nation.

A series of soft barks coming from Hanatamago turned his attention for the window to the puppy, then to the doghouse in front of him. Right. He still had to fix the canine's house.

Berwald threw one last glance at the window before resuming his work, catching a glimpse of a smiling Tino carrying what seemed to be a large bowl. The smaller nation looked like he was enjoying himself, so maybe he should stop worrying. Maybe.

Hanatamago barked once again, and the Swede glared at the puppy before continuing the repairs on the doghouse. Animals could be so impatient sometimes.

—

Calmly, Tino watched the oven from where he stood, leaning against the counter while humming a soft tune, a pair of mittens in his hands. He finally got the chance to do what he'd been meaning to ever since he found that cookbook, now that Peter had left to play with Raivis since morning; taking care of the small nation was fun, but it was also very time-consuming, what with his antics and everything.

A short while later, the oven went off with a _ding_, and the Finn quickly stood upright, putting the mittens on as he walked towards the oven. Carefully, he took the baking pan out, setting it aside to cool as he worked on the filling. The smell of freshly baked cake soon filled the kitchen, and vaguely, Tino wondered if its taste would be as good as its smell; he couldn't try the cake now, since it would only ruin its appearance later on. At least he'd made sure that he'd followed the recipe closely to prevent anything from going wrong.

—

"...Well, it doesn't look too bad," the Finnish blond finally concluded after giving the finished cake a quick examination, a slightly nervous smile on his face. The filling gave him a bit of a trouble; it took him a couple of tries to keep the oranges in place as he rolled the cake; and there were a few cracks on the pastry that probably shouldn't be there, but overall, it looked fine, and hopefully, it tasted fine as well.

At that, there was the sound of the door opening and closing, followed by heavy footsteps and the soft pitter-patter of paws. His lips curled into a small smile as he picked the plate up, carrying the cake carefully as he went towards the living room. "Su-san, I made—"

There was a dog's whimper, followed by a loud crash, which, in turn, was followed by a tiny _splat_ a split second later, and Tino suddenly found his face buried in someone else's chest, arms wrapped around him protectively. It took him a couple of seconds to figure out what the heck had just happened, and the moment he did, he reflexively pushed Berwald away and took a step back, a panicked yelp slipping past his lips as he did.

"...Y' alright?" the taller nation calmly asked, not looking the least bit fazed by what had just happened.

"Ah, oh, um, yes, I'm fine," Tino quickly stammered, throwing frantic glances all around the room before he finally spotted the now ruined pastry, splattered all over the floor. "Oh..."

"S'ry 'bout th' cake," the Swede murmured, not liking how the other nation looked so disappointed at the sight.

"Oh, no, no, it's fine. It's not your fault. I should have watched where I was going." The smaller nation waved his hands anxiously, a matching nervous smile on his lips. "I can just make another one. There are still plenty of ingredients in the kitchen." He let out a soft, uneasy chuckle as he walked past the taller blond. "We should probably clean it up before Hanatamago—"

"I'll help y' make it."

Tino stopped in his tracks and turned his attention back to the Swede, a confused look on his face for a moment before he smiled and said, "Alright. Thanks, Berwald."

The taller nation simply shook his head, a hand covering the lower part of his face as he turned his face away from the Finn in an attempt to hide the blush that was surely spreading all over his cheeks.

Truly, Tino's smile was sweeter than any cake.


End file.
